Mock Election

Polls opened Tuesday at Curie Metropolitan High School, allowing students to cast their own ballots in a mock presidential election and kicking off a systemwide effort in the Chicago Public Schools to register 18-year-olds to vote for the real elections. "If we can build these habits now, they can last a lifetime," said schools chief Arne Duncan, touting the weeks-long voting effort as the largest mock election in the country. Students were asked to choose their picks for president, U.S....

As Barack Obama and John McCain near the end of their presidential race, high school students are trying to play a key role in swaying voters and increasing turnout. On her own, Northside senior Hannah Basil organized a voter drive at school. In two days, Basil said she registered 30 to 40 students, and even a few faculty members. "I narrowed the eligible voters in school and tracked them down, personally talking to them and sending them messages through Facebook," Basil said.

Polls opened Tuesday in Curie Metropolitan High School and students began casting their ballots in a mock presidential election that kicked off a districtwide effort in the Chicago Public Schools to register 18-year-olds to vote in the real thing. "If we can build these habits now, they can last a lifetime," schools chief Arne Duncan said, touting the weekslong voting effort as the largest mock election among school districts in the nation. The district had help from the...

ALSIP Limit urged on group residences The Alsip Planning and Zoning Commission is recommending a change to village codes to limit group homes to no more than one per block. At present, the village has two such homes where unrelated people with developmental disabilities can live together in a single-family residence. One group home is on Kostner Avenue, and the other is on Leamington Avenue. A recent review of ordinances shows that there are no restrictions concerning how close one group...

Last week, hundreds of Cook County high school students tested the voting equipment adults will use next week to elect a governor, U.S. senator and other public officials. The tests went smoothly; students decided close races and learned how to monitor elections. At Palatine High School, one of 25 schools holding mock elections last Wednesday, students chose an all-Democratic slate: Rod Blagojevich for governor; Richard J. Durbin for the U.S. Senate; Lisa Madigan as attorney general...

Polls opened Tuesday at Curie Metropolitan High School, allowing students to cast their own ballots in a mock presidential election and kicking off a systemwide effort in the Chicago Public Schools to register 18-year-olds to vote for the real elections. "If we can build these habits now, they can last a lifetime," said schools chief Arne Duncan, touting the weeks-long voting effort as the largest mock election in the country. Students were asked to choose their picks for president, U.S....

Future voters now attending Lake Park High School in Roselle will mark partisan primary ballots next week for president and senator and four of their own advisory issues, including whether driving privileges should be linked to grade point average. An estimated 1,200 juniors and seniors will be eligible to vote in the mock election. The Du Page County Board of Election Commissioners is providing technical assistance.

Polls opened Tuesday in Curie Metropolitan High School and students began casting their ballots in a mock presidential election that kicked off a districtwide effort in the Chicago Public Schools to register 18-year-olds to vote in the real thing. "If we can build these habits now, they can last a lifetime," schools chief Arne Duncan said, touting the weekslong voting effort as the largest mock election among school districts in the nation. The district had help from the...

Nearly 115,000 people signed a petition to support a prominent democrat in his mock bid to lead Hong Kong once it is handed over to China, the Democratic Party said Sunday. Hong Kong's first post-colonial chief executive, Tung Chee-hwa, was chosen Wednesday by a committee handpicked by China. Hong Kong will revert to Chinese rule July 1. But the Democratic Party, Hong Kong's largest political party, termed that method undemocratic. It staged a seven-week campaign to gather...

$10,000 reward in rape A community group in Austin is offering a $10,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest in the vicious rape and beating of a 16-year-old girl earlier this month. The attack happened Sept. 16 in an alley in the 700 block of North Central Avenue, police said. The attacker was last seen wearing a dark blue or black hooded sweat shirt. Anyone with information should call 312-746-8282. Teen charged in shooting A Chicago teenager has been charged with shooting a woman in the leg in...

As Barack Obama and John McCain near the end of their presidential race, high school students are trying to play a key role in swaying voters and increasing turnout. On her own, Northside senior Hannah Basil organized a voter drive at school. In two days, Basil said she registered 30 to 40 students, and even a few faculty members. "I narrowed the eligible voters in school and tracked them down, personally talking to them and sending them messages through Facebook," Basil said.

Democracy is showing signs of life across the Middle East and beyond, from Afghanistan to Iraq to the Palestinian Territories and to Egypt. And then there is Iran. Iran staged a presidential election in recent days. That's the word: staged. It wasn't real. It was more like a charade of an election, elaborately mounted to show the world that Iranians freely choose their leaders. Iran's cynical pantomime of democracy was thoroughly controlled by the hard-line mullahs who rule the country.

The adult voters had their say Tuesday, but pupils in Palatine-based School District 15 also got to cast their ballots for president, without the need for exit polls, projections and recounts. The winner: George W. Bush. For the last six weeks, as part of its Kids Vote 2000 program, the district's 12,504 pupils studied the issues, watched the debates and analyzed the candidates, then voted online Friday. When the results of the mock election were announced over the district's cable...

Iran's ultraconservative president-elect, at once defiant and at ease, vowed Sunday to restart the nation's controversial nuclear program and warned European negotiators that building trust required a mutual effort. Asked about relations with the U.S. during his first news conference since Friday's election, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran "is taking the path of progress based on self-reliance. It doesn't need the United States significantly on this path." In a sign...

Iran's ultraconservative president-elect, at once defiant and at ease, vowed Sunday to restart the nation's controversial nuclear program and warned European negotiators that building trust required a mutual effort. Asked about relations with the U.S. during his first news conference since Friday's election, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran "is taking the path of progress based on self-reliance. It doesn't need the United States significantly on this path." In a sign...

Last week, hundreds of Cook County high school students tested the voting equipment adults will use next week to elect a governor, U.S. senator and other public officials. The tests went smoothly; students decided close races and learned how to monitor elections. At Palatine High School, one of 25 schools holding mock elections last Wednesday, students chose an all-Democratic slate: Rod Blagojevich for governor; Richard J. Durbin for the U.S. Senate; Lisa Madigan as attorney general...

Diego Rodriguez sauntered into the polling place and pulled out his driver's license and voter registration card. But the election judge wouldn`t hand him a ballot until he could prove he was Puerto Rican. Rodriguez is one of thousands of Chicagoans who are voting this weekend in a mock election on the future political status of Puerto Rico, but only if they can verify their island ancestry. The plebiscite, organized by the Puerto Rican Parade Committee, mirrors a proposed referendum that...

The adult voters had their say Tuesday, but pupils in Palatine-based School District 15 also got to cast their ballots for president, without the need for exit polls, projections and recounts. The winner: George W. Bush. For the last six weeks, as part of its Kids Vote 2000 program, the district's 12,504 pupils studied the issues, watched the debates and analyzed the candidates, then voted online Friday. When the results of the mock election were announced over the district's cable...

Adlai Stevenson and Gov. James Thompson's administration engaged in a war of words Thursday over the propriety of the state's renting the former State Street Sears store. Instead of purchasing the Sears building, possibly for $7.1 million in addition to $10 million in renovation costs, Stevenson said the state will spend $2.4 million a year to lease the property plus the $10 million in renovation expenses for the Department of Employment Security. Stevenson said the building's...